15 hard sauce recipes

Whole hard-shell crabs simmered in a garlicky tomato sauce with red pepper flakes, cracked and tossed over spaghetti. Messy, hands-on, and worth every napkin.

New Orleans seafood gumbo loaded with shrimp, hard-shell crab, and shucked oysters in a roux-thickened broth with okra and the holy trinity. Served over rice, Cajun style.

Crab, shrimp, fish, and squid braised in a clay pot with ginger, coriander root, mung bean noodles, and fresh basil in a soy-oyster sauce. A spectacular Thai seafood feast for four.

Earthy swiss chard and heirloom tomatoes combined with basil and mozzarella make an awesome one skillet main course.

A spicy vegetable stew - easy to make. Some find that the flavors of the vegetables don't stand out unless you put in a lot of tabasco. But not everyone likes it hot. Just add enough to make the stew seem spicy to you.

An easy homemade pad Thai that skips hard-to-find tamarind, leaning on fish sauce, vinegar, and paprika for that sweet-sour-salty tang. Chewy rice noodles tossed with tofu, shrimp, egg, bean sprouts, and crushed peanuts.

Tender veal slices pounded thin, stuffed with breadcrumbs, hard-boiled eggs, Romano and Parmesan, then slow-simmered in a homemade herb tomato sauce until fork-tender. A hearty Italian-American Sunday supper classic.

Baked fig and raisin pudding with crumbled waffle cookies, cocoa, walnuts, and warm spices, cooked in a water bath. A rich, old-fashioned holiday dessert served warm with hard sauce.

Homemade Thousand Island dressing with chili sauce, hard-boiled eggs, dill pickle, and a dash of barbecue sauce. Creamy, tangy, and ready in 10 minutes flat.

Egg croquettes are crisp golden balls of chopped hard-cooked eggs and mushrooms bound in cream sauce, breaded and deep-fried. A retro brunch classic served with extra cream sauce on top.

Ethiopia's beloved chicken stew simmered in spiced butter, berbere sauce, red wine, and caramelized onions. Tender chicken pieces with hard-boiled eggs in a fiery, aromatic sauce that warms you to the bone.

Tender asparagus spears drizzled with a warm garlic-lemon butter sauce and chopped hard-boiled egg. A classic European side dish ready in just 15 minutes.

A truly authentic middle-eastern falafel recipe complete with the hard to find spicy sauce. Very close to the famous Aida's Falafel that used to be located in downtown Toronto.

Italian meatball sandwich: pork-and-beef meatballs simmered for an hour in a long-cooked red wine tomato sauce built on salt pork, garlic, basil, and marjoram. Piled in a crusty roll with Parmesan and roasted peppers for a proper Sunday sub.

I think this recipe originated from McCalls recipe cards. Poached salmon steaks with a vegetable sauce.